The aldolases of Chlamydomonas reinhardii

Genome-Wide Identification and Characterization of FBA Gene Family in Polyploid Crop Brassica napus

Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (FBA) is a versatile metabolic enzyme involved in multiple important processes of glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, and Calvin cycle. Despite its significance in plant biology, the identity of this gene family in oil crops is lacking. Here, we performed genome-wide identification and characterization of FBAs in an allotetraploid species, oilseed rape Brassica napus. Twenty-two BnaFBA genes were identified and divided into two groups based on integrative analyses of functional domains, phylogenetic relationships, and gene structures. Twelve and ten B. napus FBAs (BnaFBAs) were predicted to be localized in the chloroplast and cytoplasm, respectively. Notably, synteny analysis revealed that Brassica-specific triplication contributed to the expansion of the BnaFBA gene family during the evolution of B. napus. Various cis-acting regulatory elements pertinent to abiotic and biotic stresses, as well as phytohormone responses, were detected. Intriguingly, each of the BnaFBA genes exhibited distinct sequence polymorphisms. Among them, six contained signatures of selection, likely having experienced breeding selection during adaptation and domestication. Importantly, BnaFBAs showed diverse expression patterns at different developmental stages and were preferentially highly expressed in photosynthetic tissues. Our data thus provided the foundation for further elucidating the functional roles of individual BnaFBA and also potential targets for engineering to improve photosynthetic productivity in B. napus.

Purification and characterization of class-I and class-II fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolases from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

The whole genome sequence database for Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 has revealed the presence of genes encoding class-I (CI) and class-II (CII) fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolases (FBAs) in this organism. Two types of FBA from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 were separated by chromatography on phenyl-Sepharose. The activity of the enzyme in the major peak was inhibited by the presence of 25 mM EDTA; however, the activity in the minor peak was not. Therefore, the FBA in the former fractions was designated as CII-FBA, and in the latter designated as CI-FBA. CI-FBA was functionally redundant in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, while no disruptant for the gene encoding CII-FBA was obtained under photoautotrophic conditions. The kinetic parameters of CI- and CII-FBAs purified from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 in the cleavage reaction of FBP were generally similar, except in their reactivity for SBP. The SBP/FBP activity ratio of the CII-FBA was two times higher than that of the CI-FBA.

Fructose-bisphosphate aldolases: an evolutionary history

Two mechanistically distinct forms of fructose-bisphosphate aldolase are known to exist. It has been assumed that the Class II (metallo) aldolases are evolutionary more primitive than their Class I (Schiff-base) analogs since the latter had only been found in eukaryotes. With the identification of prokaryotic Class I aldolases, we present here an alternative scheme of aldolase evolution. This scheme proposes that both aldolase classes are evolutionarily ancient and rationalizes the observed highly variable expression of both enzyme types in contemporary file forms.

An unusual class I (Schiff base) fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase from the halophilic archaebacterium Haloarcula vallismortis

An electrophoretically homogeneous class I (Schiff base) alsolase has been isolated for the first time from the archaebacterial halophile Haloarcula (Halobacterium) vallismortis. The aldolase was characterized with respect to its molecular mass, amino acid composition, salt dependency, immunological cross-reactivity and kinetic properties. The subunit mass of aldolase is 27 kDa, which is much smaller than other class I aldolases. By the gel filtration method, the molecular mass of the halobacterial enzyme was estimated as 280 +/- 10 kDa, suggesting a decameric nature. In contrast to many halobacterial proteins, the H. vallismortis aldolase, though a halophilic enzyme, did not show an excess of acidic residues. Unlike the eukaryotic aldolases, the activity of the halobacterial enzyme was not affected by carboxypeptidase digestion. The general catalytic features of the enzyme were similar to its counterparts from other sources. No antigenic similarity could be detected between the H. vallismortis aldolase and class I aldolase from eubacteria and eukaryotes or class II halobacterial aldolases.

Compartmentation of glycolysis and of the oxidative pentose-phosphate pathway in Chlamydomonas reinhardii

Glycolytic enzyme activities and enzyme activities of the oxidative pentose-phosphate pathway were measured in intact chloroplasts from Chlamydomonas reinhardii. By comparison with the total enzyme activities of intact protoplasts of the alga the data were used to locate these enzymes quantitatively in the algal chloroplast. It was found that the glycolytic chain in C. reinhardii is roughly split into a plastidic and an extraplastidic part. More than 90% of the first part of glycolysis (from fructose-6-phosphate to triose-phosphate is located in the plastid while more than 95% of the second part (from glycerate-3-phosphate to pyruvate) is outside. Around 70% of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and gluconate-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, two key enzymes of the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway, are located in the plastid. It is concluded that in C. reinhardii the major part of hexose breakdown to triose-phosphate occurs in the chloroplast and that a tight cooperation between the plastid and the cytoplasm is required for appreciable sugar breakdown to occur in the algal cell.

Purification, subunit structure and immunological comparison of fructose-bisphosphate aldolases from spinach and corn leaves

The cytosol and chloroplast fructose-bisphosphate aldolases from spinach leaves were separated by ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, and were purified by subsequent affinity chromatography on phosphocellulose to apparent homogeneity as judged from polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. The two aldolases had specific activities of 7.2 and 7.8 units mg protein-1. Molecular weight determinations by electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate gels and by sedimentation velocity centrifugation in sucrose gradients showed that the aldolases contained four subunits of Mr 38 000 and 35 000, respectively. Antibodies against the cytosol and chloroplast aldolase from spinach leaves were raised in a guinea pig and in a rabbit, respectively. In the Ouchterlony double-diffusion test, the two aldolases did not cross-react. A small degree of cross-reaction was observed by a test in which immune complexes were adsorbed to a solid-phase support (Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I cells) and nonbound enzyme activity was determined after centrifugation. These results imply major structural differences between the two spinach leaf aldolases. Only one major aldolase could be resolved on DEAE-cellulose from corn leaves. The aldolase was purified and had a specific activity of 6.4 units X mg protein-1. The corn leaf aldolase cross-reacted with the antiserum raised against the chloroplast enzyme from spinach leaves, but not with the other antiserum. Thus, the corn leaf aldolase could be identified as a chloroplast enzyme. Since aldolase activity is mostly restricted to the bundle sheath cells of corn leaf, it was concluded that it is compartmentalized in the chloroplasts of these cells but not in chloroplasts of the mesophyll cells.

Comparison of the mechanisms of two distinct aldolases from Escherichia coli grown on gluconeogenic substrates

Escherichia coli grown on gluconeogenic compounds as carbon sources produced two chemically and physically distinct types of fructose-1,6-biphosphate aldolases (D-fructose-1,6-bisphosphate D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphatelyase, EC 4.1.2.13), while these bacteria produced only a single enzyme when grown on glucose or fructose. We have investigated this enzyme in several strains of Escherichia coli (Crookes, K-12, and B) grown on glucose, fructose lactate, pyruvate, alanine and glycerol by comparing chemical properties and mechanisms of action. Comparison of these mechanisms was accomplished by following the fate of 18O in the keto position of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate during the aldolase catalyzed cleavage reaction. The results show that the two enzymes have different mechanisms of action and are consistent with a Schiff-base mechanism for the one which was induced by gluconeogenic substrates and metal-chelate mechanism for the constitutive enzyme.

Purification and characterization of two fructose diphosphate aldolases from Escherichia coli (Crookes' strain)

Two fructose diphosphate aldolases (EC 4.1.2.13) were detected in extracts of Escherichia coli (Crookes' strain) grown on pyruvate or lactate. The two enzymes can be resolved by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose at pH7.5, or by gel filtration on Sephadex G-200, and both have been obtained in a pure state. One is a typical bacterial aldolase (class II) in that it is strongly inhibited by metal-chelating agents and is reactivated by bivalent metal ions, e.g. Ca(2+), Zn(2+). It is a dimer with a molecular weight of approx. 70000, and the K(m) value for fructose diphosphate is about 0.85mm. The other aldolase is not dependent on metal ions for its activity, but is inhibited by reduction with NaBH(4) in the presence of substrate. The K(m) value for fructose diphosphate is about 20mum (although the Lineweaver-Burk plot is not linear) and the enzyme is probably a tetramer with molecular weight approx. 140000. It has been crystallized. On the basis of these properties it is tentatively assigned to class I. The appearance of a class I aldolase in bacteria was unexpected, and its synthesis in E. coli is apparently favoured by conditions of gluconeogenesis. Only aldolase of class II was found in E. coli that had been grown on glucose. The significance of these results for the evolution of fructose diphosphate aldolases is briefly discussed.

The mechanism of hydrogen photoproduction by several algae : I. The effect of inhibitors of photophosphorylation

In order to come to a more firmly based conclusion on the mechanism of hydrogen photoproduction in green algae, we have compared two additional genera of green algae, i.e., Ankistrodesmus and Chlorella, with the previously tested Chlamydomonas and Scenedesmus. None of the algae tested required photosystem II for H2 photoproduction, since this reaction still occurred in the presence of 10(-5)M DCMU. Photophosphorylation was also not required since two potent inhibitors of this process, Cl-CCP and SAL, almost always stimulated H2 photoproduction. However, the effect of the inhibitors was found to vary with the species of alga and also with the age and growth conditions of the culture. The highest concentration of SAL tested (10(-2)M) always stimulated H2 photoproduction by photoheterotrophically grown cells, but often inhibited this reaction in autotrophically grown cells. When present, this inhibition by SAL was associated with gross pigment damage. The variation in the effect of Cl-CCP upon H2 photoproduction due to different growth conditions was particularly striking for Chlorella vulgaris.Cl-CCP gave very little if any stimulation of this reaction in autotrophically grown cells of this alga, but stimulated H2 photoproduction by photoheterotrophically grown cells approximately 450%. Chlamydomonas cells were found to be about ten times as sensitive as the other cells to both poisons. We conclude that all of the algae tested are able to photoproduce H2 via non-cyclic electron flow through photosystem I to hydrogenase.